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berlin. israel's prime minister under fire after a year-long investigation, is really police say benjamin netanyahu took bribes and recommended that he be charged with corruption. we will go live to jerusalem for the latest and coming up, president zuma ups the stakes in south africa's political showdown. the ruling party tells them to go but the president says not yet. and germany's oldest political party looks set to decide on his new female leader. but can andre analysis unify the deeply divided social democrats? plus, ukraine's opposition leader vows to fight until the very end. after being forcibly deported to

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poland, he says he will continue his fight against corruption and rally political opposition from abroad. ♪ host: i am sarah kelly. welcome to the brea program. thank you for joining us. we begin with a report that is really police have enough evidence to recommend prosecutors charge benjamin netanyahu with bribery following a 14-month investigation for the recommendation has been handed to the country's attorney general. netanyahu denies wrongdoing in. a live tv -- wrongdoing. in a live tv address, he says all the recommendations against him will "end with nothing," and he will continue to lead israel responsibly and faithfully. he has been questioned several times over the past year and is

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a suspect in two separate cases. >> israel's prime minister netanyahu has held the post for nine years but now his future seems uncertain. foro many months, a special police unit has been investigating allegations against the prime minister. these probes are known as cases one and 2000 -- 1000 and 2000. case 1000, he and his family are suspected of accepting lavish gifts from business people and rich friends. champagne, cigars, and other items worth tens of thousands of israeli shekels. in case 2000, the prime minister allegedly tried to influence the publisher of a daily newspaper to receive more favorable coverage. he built his image on mr. security. he is still the favorite prime minister of many israelis but the last few months, some have

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gone out to protest. it is now up to the attorney general to decide whether to follow the recommendations of the police. netanyahu himself has denied all accusations and called the investigations a witchhunt against him and his family. sarah: for more, i'm joined by dw's middle east correspondent tonya kramer joining us live from israel. netanyahu responded defiantly to these allegations. tell us more. tonya: this has been a major news development here in israel. for months, there has been this cloud hanging over the prime minister for this many months of investigation. now it is official and israelis will be able to find out the details of the investigation. now the police have found enough evidence as it appears to

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recommend a possible indictment in bribery and breach of trust. in both cases, case 1000 and 2000. prime minister netanyahu has said, and it has been his mantra all along, there will be nothing because there is nothing. q out to adjust the israeli public about the recommendations, saying he wants and vows to stay the prime minister and will continue to lead the country. he feels his family and himself have been sometimes attacked over allegations and accusations. and also, he repeated there will be nothing because there is nothing. sarah: how can he be so sure? walk us through what the next steps might be and what he could be facing. tonya: these are recommendations by the police. now it is in the hands of the attorney general to decide whether to indict the prime minister or not, and that could

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take some time -- [no audio] we will be looking at the political arena and what will happen there. his coalition partners have already said -- some of them at least -- will waive what the attorney general decides and draw there and conclusions. the israeli public will have a say. there have been demonstrations to speed up those investigations, and it is probably also in the public opinion what the future will look like for the prime minister. sarah: tell us a little bit more about the exact allegations. we have heard about the case 1000 where he is suspected of accepting gifts from billionaire benefactors. what are the details there? tonya: the details are still coming out. but what the allegations are there that he has been for many years taken gifts and was always

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called here to the champagne and cigar case. that he has taken gifts from businessmen, especially this one producer that has been always mentioned, and that has been worth many tens of thousands of israeli shekels. now, with the question must for the police, has he actually given some favors in return? we're waiting for the details to come out on that in the case 1000 has more to do with influencing a publisher to get more favored coverage. that deal has not been really implemented at the end. sarah: tonya kramer with the latest from israel where there are reports that police have enough evidence to recommend prosecutors consider trading prime minister benjamin netanyahu with bribery. thank you for your reporting.

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south africa's ruling party has formally asked the president jacob zuma to resign and said he should go so the country can move toward political stability and economic recovery. pressure on president zuma has been growing since december when he was to place fight anc leader , by south africa's deputy president. he is ready to take over the job. but zuma remains in power, saying he will get his response wednesday. here is what the anc secretary-general had to say short while ago. >> for every communicator of this decision, wile will give hm time and space to respond. we have not given him any time to respond. we expect a diplomat to do what the organization expects him to do.

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i do not know what will happen, but let us leave it to president jacob zuma. sarah: for more, let us bring in ellis then gelder, joining us from cape town. we just read the chair saying he does not know what will happen. let us leave it up to jacob zuma. zuma saying he will go when he is good and ready. what happens now? ellis: he actually said earlier he was ready to go only in three to six months. the party said they did not want that. they wanted him to go. he refuses to go, then the only option is to impeach him or to vote for a motion of no-confidence in parliament. the only way is a parliamentary process. if that happens, that can be more humiliating for the anc

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and president zuma. there's already a motion of no-confidence on the table, table by the opposition and they want to keep control over the process. they want to keep it in their own hands. they are still hopeful that maybe tomorrow, zuma will say i am loyal to my party and i will listen to them. sarah: in t if we look at the backgroundhe meantime, -- in the meantime, if we look at the background, jacob zuma was replaced in 2005 when he was implemented in a corruption scandal. he has been docked by scandal ever since the party -- dogged by scandal ever since but the party stuck by him until now. walk us through what has changed. ellis: indeed. the party stuck by him. part of the party is-zuma loyal -- is zuma loyal. this was a meeting that lasted 13 hours. it says enough. it says there are still people within the party that's work zuma -- support -- that support

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zuma that have been benefiting from this prospect. in december, there was voted in a new party leader of the anc. he has been leading these negotiations. he is clear. he is anticorruption, anti-zuma, and he wants to bring the ansi back to its old values. that is why -- the anc back to its old values. that is why zuma now has to move. sarah: why not just have a vote of no-confidence in the parliament? it would be swift to remove him from power and sublet problems. why is the anc not taking that route right now? ellis: they are still using words like they want to have respect for jacob zuma. dignity is very important. loyalty is very important.

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they do feel these are core values of the anc, so they do want him to go with some sort of honor, it seems. they also say if he does want to humiliate himself, we will go to parliament. if he denies to go one way or the other, they will kick him out, basically. sarah: ellis with the latest from south africa. thank you. in germany, martine schulz has officially stepped down with immediate effect of the leader of the social democrats. the move comes among widespread disenchantment with his leadership within the ranks of the spd party. members are gearing up to vote on a deal with angela merkel' conservatives. ssenior members say they will back schulz's nomination for the new leader. for more on this, let us bring in political scientist kristof gnguen.

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we know they are trying to manage a smooth transition now, but it is a critical moment not only for the spd but for the country. they need to approve the proposed coalition with chancellor angela merkel's conservatives. does this throw a wrench into that process? kristof: i think the hope was the leadership transition would beast mode. fact that there -- would be smooth. the fact that there are some people would be unhappy shows the transition has not been smooth. the fact that we talking about it now means they have not succeeded. i think their hope is now by putting this off until april, they are giving themselves a little bit of breathing room until march when the members of the spd gets a vote on whether or not they approve it. sarah: let's start more about the boat.

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we know andrea gave an impassioned speech and for the party. she was really calling for negotiations on this coalition deal, and she is pushing for it now. she reiterated that support. it is a more likely the spd will seal a yes vote now that she is the designated successor, so to speak? kristof: i think she has some credibility with the more left-wing of the party. the ball against the grand coalition of the people who are happy with her nomination, so i think having her potentially as the new leader may not change their minds as much. there may be people on the fringes or edges. what they will decide, iit is too early to tell. sarah: most people would be happy going into the party but that is not the case for all. while this is the complications and the situation the party is in right now. kristof: they managed to get the

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three key ministries in the negotiations. a lot of other parties would be very happy with this, but even then, it may seem, especially if you are unhappy with the general direction of the party, as some of them -- especially younger members are --this is just another sign they are in it -- this is just another sign they are in it -- the people critical of the direction say it is heading where the party needs to be instead of halting the decline. sarah: germany has been waiting for a government for nearly five months now. pretty staggering. has the country suffered because of his political vacuum? kristof: i think the country has not so much in that the caretaker government is taking care of everything. what is lacking is new leadership and direction of the european level where we have been waiting for a german government that sort of maybe becomes a partner for the french government in going ahead for

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some much-needed reforms. sarah: than as election, you are a political scientist. thank you very much for walking us through this move at the party and what it means for german politics. we appreciate it. it is time to head over to helena humphrey, standing by in our business desk talking about the u.s. markets today. helena: a little off, and traders are saying it is the commonest day in new york and almost two weeks. this in the wake of that correction after stocks lost 10%. the dow dropped by 0.5% at its opening today. tech results pushed the index is a positive territory. if it manages to hold on, it would be the third straight increase in a row. the big worry is u.s. inflation data due out on wednesday. if it comes in even a tick too high, it could be an even bigger

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shakeout on the markets then we have already seen. meanwhile, european stocks dipped in a day of cautious trading here. even though germany stocks have been more stable than u.s. stocks, the same worries exist. >> the shock of the sudden selloff last week is anything but digested. trading was tempered today come up but traders were nervous. they were more nervous than the shared price movements, the moderate ones would suggest. the question is, how will inflation in the united states develop? the number on that is expected tomorrow, wednesday. if the number comes in under expectations, that is if consumer prices are under control, will people breathe a sigh of relief? there is skepticism in the market. helena: our financial correspondent in frankfurt. how about free public transport? the german government is touting the idea and a bid to give

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people to leave their cars at home and hop on a train, tram, or bus. that european union' environmental regulatorss laid out a plan to test it in five cities. they are placing -- they're getting fines in brussels for not meeting emission standards. >> they are making public transport free and testing and five cities. the transfer companies say they are skeptical about the plan because it is unclear who will pay for the extra vehicles to handle the rush of new passengers. there could be other problems, too. >> this is something that has been tried and tested in other cities around the world. melbourne. there are times when there was a hope that more people would leave their car at home because also what some of those examples did show is that people are also reluctant to leave the comfort zone of their own car behind.

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if it is for free here in germany, there is a wide expectation people would go for it. >> germany does not have too many other options. big seven mission levels that have exceeded eu limits or years. if the european commission believes germany continues to ignore the problem, it will decide next month about prosecuting germany at the european court of justice. helena: it has been more than a year since farmers in new south wales and australia have seen a decent drop of rain. dams across the area have dried up. water is scarce, and so with cattle feed, leaving farmers in a precarious situation. >> these cattle used to graze on rich, green grasslands. after year without rain, the pastor looks like this. farmers in australia's hunter valley are forced to hand feed their animals if they can because the ongoing drought has dried up dams and creeks. the situation is growing increasingly desperate. >> it is very depressing to go

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out and find there is another cow who has died. >> some farmers are even making the tough decision to kill cattle that have grown too weak. others are offloading their animals at the region's cattle auctions. >> there has got to be long-term repercussions. >> in the past, droughts have triggered assistance measures, lake transport subsidies from the new south wales state government, but that is no longer the case. >> i don't expect handouts, but when you have done everything possible yourself and you have tried to drought-proof your property by various measures and you still cannot manage, there should be some sort of subsidy. >> with the soil growing dryer every day, farmers are left to fend for themselves and look out for their neighbors. true relief can only come from above.

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helena: vocal critic of the ukraine government has found himself back in poland. sarah: thanks so much. we are talking about the ukrainian opposition leader. he said he will continue his fight against corruption and rally people against the country's authorities, despite being supported, as we just heard. yesterday, he was dragged out of a restaurant, forcibly detained, and sent to poland. his lawyer said he was kidnapped. >> a day after his deportation to poland, he remains defiant. speaking to dw ,, he vowed to keep pressure on authorities and calls on officials he accuses of corruption had on. -- head on. >> we need to get a clear message that the western banks will no longer loan them money.

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they will be arrested. they are not welcome in the west. that is what will make -- >> back in ukraine, there are mixed opinions about the former georgian president. >> he did not do anything good in ukraine and he would destabilize the situation. even in georgia, he did not do anything good. >> our police acted in a bad manner. at the same time, he should return to where his roots are and tha asked questions there. >> he is a man capable of breaking the backbone of our corrupt government. he was deported because a are afraid of him. scott's officials say the surveillance footage shows the moment border police detained him at a restaurant monday. he was then flown to warsaw. authorities say he was residing in ukraine illegally after being stripped of his citizenship in july. he had been a friend of president petro poroshenko,

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arriving in ukraine as his advisor in 2014. he became a ukrainian citizen, and was picked by poroshenko as governor of the odessa region. he later turned into a fierce critic of the government and anticorruption campaigner. in poland, shock u he said he wd return to the ukraine to fight elites. ♪ sarah: day four of the winter olympics has wrapped up and another 17-year-old american has won gold in south korea. the mechanic line has been following you offer us. we have to start with chloe kim. nick: we do indeed. a 17-year-old american winning gold. chloe kim did it again on the half pipe. she had a pretty good lead. she would not have had to do much. she had this run completely out of the park.

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on this track you see right now, it is a 1080. she did it twice. no other female olympian has done that before her. this is a young age of 17. you have to have nerves for that. insane. look at the height she gets, as well. to win the gold. a lovely story.when she was 13 years old, she could have gone to the olympics in sochi in 2014 but the ioc said you are too young to go. a lovely story because she also, before elementary school, she would go to the trampoline and practice her jumps and flips in the mornings. that is the fruit of it all. she. can do that, stuff at the olympics -- she can do that stuff at the olympics. she has korean roots. she dedicated her gold-medal to her grandmother. >> having my family be there through the whole process was so helpful, and i surrounded myself with such amazing people that they definitely made it much easier for me.

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i feel a guide to represent both the u.s. and korea today, and i am very honored to have been able to do that. sarah: it takes a village. you have to have a lot of support. it is good that she is thinking everyone for that support. and she was not the first one to win an olympic open the first time today. nick: she was not. this is his third olympics. the first time he has managed to win gold. sochi he won a silver. and vancouver he went into him dead. he is considered one of the best outline skiers in the sport. when of the greatest of all-time. happened.and it finallygold at the curse has been broken. he really is the greatest alpine skiing or i have seen since i have been watching skiing. he can at the gold medal to a cb next to the six world champion titles. sarah: now we have to go to lose. quiet -- luge. quite an impressive sport. we have to talk about german, who has retained her -- durmand,

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who has retained her singles title. nick: she is the only one so far to do it. felix love lost his senate. the coaches were -- lost his sunday. she had 0.1 seconds of a lead. incredible amount of speed. then she goes to the finish line with even more time, finishing 0.3 seconds ahead of the competitions that she managed to keep her gold-medal. she has a chance to retain her team relay medal later this week so she can go home as a double olympic champion again. sarah: we talk about the winners so often but there are a lot of heartbreaks at the games. there are usually -- well, there are only three medals for events that can be given out. there was heart break in speedskating, right? nick: indeed.

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elise christie of team great britain is one of the best skaters out there. she was disqualified from all three of the events. one of them was a strange judge's position. in the final.,she felt she was getting close to second place and she could have actually won. in the quarterfinal, she broke an olympic record. 42 seconds. incredibly fast. she is one of the favorites but she got clipped by one of her competitors. should not finish the race. quite a sad story. she has a chance to get a medal in the 1000 meter and 1500 meter event later this week. sarah: what's we have coming up tomorrow? nick: ice-skating, hockey, and more luge. sarah: it will be a jampacked day and we will see you again tomorrow to wrap it all up for us thank you so much. with that, you're up-to-date here on dw news. i am sarah kelly in berlin. thank you so much for watching. we hope to see you again soon. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute,

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which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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